


Customer Service

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ba Sing Se, Comedy, Customer Service, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Earth Kingdom (Avatar), Ever - Freeform, FUCK, Gen, Pao's Family Teahouse (Avatar), Retail, Tea, Tea Shop, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, also i take suggestions, cAn I sPeAk tOo tHe mAnAger?, i spelled to wrong, karens are annoying, maybe idk i havent written fluff like, surprisingly theres not much angst here i, tea solves everything, this is new
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24994516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: As the lady, Zuko thinks her name is Karen, rants, he only half listens, drowning out most of her complaining. 'Agni, this woman is such a bitch,' he thought. He smiled harder.(OR: Zuko’s experience with customers in both Pao’s Family Tea Shop and the Jasmine Dragon. He thinks he's not cut out for retail. He's lying to himself. Also, I honestly just wrote this because all of my fics are filled with angst and I want at least a lil more diversity than that)
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 157





	Customer Service

As Zuko began to close up shop and lose himself in his head, he picked up the broom and mindlessly swept so he could have something to do with his hands. Making large swoops across the floor as the dust flew into the dustpan, he moved to throw it out in a small waste basket by the door.

As he turned around, he jumped, dirt flying everywhere as the dustpan fell from his hands. In the door’s window was a woman, face squished against the glass, hands splayed over it as she yelled something unintelligible. 

Regaining his composure, he set the broom and dustpan aside and made to open the door, bracing himself for the worst and putting on a smile so fake it made his cheeks hurt.

“Hello, ma’am,” he greeted once the entrance had swung open. “We’re closed right now, so-”

“No!” the lady announced. Zuko looked at her in confusion. “...What?” he asked. It was almost as if she- “No!” the woman cried again. It took all of Zuko’s effort not to slap her as he desperately tried to keep up the quickly slipping smile. “You close at 11pm. It’s 10:52,” she clarified. “You have to let me in.”

Zuko desperately tried not to roll his eyes as he opened the door wider. _Why do you need tea at this hour, just go home so I can go home!_ his brain whined, before noticing he had just called the small, dingy apartment his home. He almost widened his eyes. _No, not the time for a moral dilemma,_ he thought, making his way to the table the woman had sat at.

_I’m calling you Karen,_ he thought angrily, wishing he could tell that strange insult straight to her face. His expression did not change with his thoughts, though. The fake, toothy grin was still plastered on his face like a crude piece of art made by a 2-year-old.

“Which tea would you like to order?” he said, muffled behind teeth grinding together. His jaw began to ache. “Um… Can I get a minute? Don’t breathe down my back,” Karen exclaimed, voice growing higher in pitch. Zuko nodded, turning around and dropping the fake smile as his eyes rolled and he walked to the back, cheeks relaxing. 

“Uncle, there’s a customer here and i don’t know what to do,” he said, lowering his voice as he pushed open the door. His uncle looked at him. “There’s no bad time for tea, nephew, what did they want?” Iroh asked calmly. Zuko’s eye twitched. “I. Don’t. Know.” he emphasized. 

Uncle looked back towards the kettle in his hands and placed it on the counter, moving his hand to the spark rocks and beginning to rub them together until a small flame had started, filling the appliance that had taken its place on the counter with water and setting it down to boil. “Well go ask,” he mused, sorting through the tea leaves. “Oh, make sure to tell them that we’re out of jasmine.”

Zuko exhaled smoke from his nose before trying to take deep breaths. He could do this. _Okay, okay, game face on._ He smiled. _Ow._ Turning around, he briskly walked out to greet the woman again. _God, her haircut sucks,_ he thought, eyebrows furrowing for a second. “Hello, again,” he began. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re currently out of jasmine tea, in case you-” “But that’s what I wanted!” the lady whined, stomping her foot.

Zuko’s eye twitched. “I’m sorry ma’am, it’s not in my control what we’re in or out of currently.” The lady squinted her eyes. “Are you sure, or did you just not look hard enough?” she taunted, turning up her nose and dragging her left eye into a slit. _This bitch did not-_ Zuko smiled harder. “I’m positive,” he affirmed. _When this is over she’s gonna be six feet under I swear to Agni._

The lady scrunched up her face and began to scream profanities at Zuko. _Burning? No, I’d get caught. Poison? No, Uncle’s brewing, he’d get blamed. Stabbing?_ As the lady, Zuko thought her name was Karen, continued to rant, he only half listened, drowning out most of her complaining. _Agni, this woman is such a bitch,_ he thought. He smiled harder. His cheeks hurt.

“Can I speak to the manager?” she exclaimed. “...I’m sorry?” Zuko replied. _Stabbing. Definitely stabbing._ “The manager of this establishment, let me speak to him,” Karen demanded. Zuko took a deep breath. “The manager is not here right now, but the brewer is,” he explained. He forgot his Uncle’s other titles that Pao had given him, but he really didn’t care. _I’m so sorry for this, Uncle,_ he thought. “Good! I would like to speak to him.”

Zuko nodded. “Uncle!” he called out. Iroh rushed out from the back. Zuko quickly mouthed him an apology and briskly walked towards the kitchen where the kettle was whistling. He sighed, taking the kettle off of the stove. _You can’t leave the water boiling,_ He remembered his uncle saying when he was trying to teach him the ways of tea. He forgot why, but he didn’t want to mess this lady’s drink up. She was crazy.

A few minutes passed, the lady’s muffled screaming and Uncle’s compliant voice filling Zuko’s ears as he got his break. He took a deep breath and let the muscles in his face relax as Uncle walked through the door. “She wants matcha,” he replied, obviously worn out. Zuko scrunched up his face. “Ew,” he remarked. Uncle looked offended as he started the fire with the spark rocks again and placed the kettle on the stove. _He usually would’ve gotten new water,_ Zuko realized, confused. It was already past closing time though, boiling hot water was easier. 

Zuko watched as the kettle whistled and his uncle took it off the stove and placed it on the counter, taking out a bag of matcha powder and measuring about a teaspoon of it. As the powder was dumped into the cup, it looked as if it were dancing in the air. Slowly, a small amount of the water was added, not enough to fill the cup, though. Iroh pulled out a bamboo whisk and began to stir the drink, before pouring in another small amount of water. This process repeated until the cup was full and mixed thoroughly. Zuko sighed and placed it onto a small plate before taking it.

He walked out to the lady, whose arms were crossed. He placed down the tea. “Took you long enough,” she remarked. Zuko forced on a sickly sweet voice again. “That’ll be one silver piece and two copper pieces, ma’am,” he said.

Karen blinked, before pulling out a silver piece from her bag and basically throwing it at him. _Rude,_ he thought, fumbling for the coin. “Whatever,” she sighed, taking a sip of her tea. _And ungrateful. She didn’t even pay the right amount, what the fuck._ Zuko, coin in hand, turned around and made his way back to the kitchen, an annoyed expression on his face. _At least I don’t have to talk to her anymore._

Pushing the door open, Zuko walked in to see his uncle pouring a cup of tea. Jasmine tea. He raised his only eyebrow, placing the silver coin on the table. “We didn’t run out,” his uncle explained. “We just only had a bit left, and I know it’s your favorite.” Zuko smiled, and picked up the cup.

“WAITER! MY TEA’S TOO WEAK!” he jumped as the voice rang out from the tables, almost dropping the chamomile in his hands. He rolled his eyes and placed it on the counter, walking back out to see Karen with her empty cup.

He stood in front of her table, eyeing the porcelain with nothing in it. “I would like a refund and a refill,” Karen exclaimed as she slammed her cup down. “I’m sorry, ma’am-” _I’m not, fuck you._ “-but we can’t refund or refill your drink considering that you drank it all,” he responded calmly.

The lady was fuming. “Also, it’s way past closing time, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he replied. Karen only got angrier as she smacked the table with both her hands, creating a loud noise. Zuko flinched. The lady pushed herself up and stormed out the door. Sighing in relief, Zuko picked up the cup and plate, carrying it to the back where his uncle could wash it. He made his way back out and picked up his broom again, beginning to sweep the dust that had fallen when Karen had arrived back into the pan where it belonged.

He picked up the pan, full of dirt and crumbs, and walked it back over to the bin he had been trying to place it in before. He dumped it in and set the broom on the wall, picking up a rag he had been using prior and wiping down Karen’s table. Since Uncle was likely using the sink, he walked outside and rang the rag out as the cool air of Ba Sing Se’s night flew against his skin. He made his way back inside and opened the kitchen’s door.

“Hello, Uncle,” he greeted, picking up his tea and taking a few sips. He sat there for a while as Uncle poured himself the rest of the tea. Once Zuko and Iroh were finished, Zuko began to rinse out his cup and motioned for Iroh to give him his. Iroh complied and Zuko washed his cup as well, drying them both out.

The two turned the lights off and made their way to the apartment they had learned to call home, the city lights illuminating their path as they walked. Zuko was just glad that the lady was gone, hopefully for good.


End file.
